1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to record and read apparatuses, and more particularly, to a record and read apparatus having a structure in which the height of the head by which information is read from or written to a recording medium can be adjusted.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, in a record and read apparatus in which a disk type recording medium is installed, an optical head comprising a laser type optical pick up is moved in a radial direction of the disk so that information is read from or written to the recording medium. In this kind of record and read apparatus, after the tray on which the disk type recording medium is mounted is installed in the record and read apparatus, the disk type recording medium is clamped by a turn table. And then, the optical head is guided by a guide shaft and performs a seek operation in the radial direction of the disk.
In this kind of record and read apparatus, it is required that information (pit pattern) recorded in the disk type recording medium with high density be read out precisely. Hence, it is necessary to adjust the relative angle between the optical head and the disk type recording medium so that the distance and the inclination between the position for the seek operation of the optical head against the disk type recording medium and the disk mounted on the turn table are constant.
That is, in an assembly line of the record and read apparatus such as a disk apparatus, after assembly of the turn table and the optical head is completed, a light reflected from a standard disk for position adjustment is detected by the optical head in a state where the standard disk for position adjustment is clamped at the turn table. At that time, the install angle and the distance (height) of the optical head and the inclination against the standard disk are adjusted so that the angle of the laser light is a designated value by measuring the gap of the angle of the light reflected from the standard disk detected by the optical head with a measuring tool (auto collimator).
The height of the optical head against the standard disk is supported at the designated position by adjusting the height of the guide shaft guiding the optical head.
For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 11-203801 discloses a conventional art record and read apparatus having a mechanism for adjusting the height of the guide shaft. In the above described conventional art record and read apparatus, a coil spring is disposed between the guide shaft and a chassis. An adjustment screw is driven into the chassis and a head part of the adjustment screw comes in contact with an upper part of the guide shaft so that the height of the guide shaft can be adjusted.
However, according to the conventional art record and read apparatus disclosed in the above Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application, the adjustment screw comes in contact with an outer circumference of the guide shaft made of around stock in a side direction. The coil spring disposed between the guide shaft and the chassis is compressed by pressing the outer circumference of the guide shaft from an upper side with the head part of the adjustment screw. The amount of compression of the coil spring is changed based on the driving amount of the adjustment screw screwed into the guide shaft, so that the support height of the guide shaft against the chassis is adjusted.
Therefore, the minimum adjustable height of the guide shaft is too high. Hence, it is not possible to make the record and read apparatus thin.
Furthermore, the structure of the guide shaft adjust mechanism is large so that the space for disposing the adjust mechanism is large. Hence, it is not possible to make the record and read apparatus thin.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a novel and useful record and read apparatus wherein one or more of the problems described above are eliminated.
Another and more specific object of the present invention is to provide a record and read apparatus, including a head by which information is read from or written to a recording medium, a guide shaft guiding movements of the head, a base part supporting the guide shaft, a pressing member pressing the guide shaft, and a support member adjustably supporting an end part of the guide shaft against a pressing force of the pressing member so that the end part of the guide shaft has a designated height from the base part, wherein the guide shaft has a notch part and the pressing member comes in contact with the notch part so that the height of the guide shaft from the base part is adjustable.
According to the above mentioned aspect of the present invention, it is possible to meet the requirement of making the record and read apparatus thin by making the minimum adjustable height of the guide shaft short.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a record and read apparatus, including a head by which information is read from or written to a recording medium, a guide shaft guiding movements of the head, a base part supporting the guide shaft, and an adjustment mechanism adjusting an end part of the guide shaft so that the end part of the guide shaft has a designated height from the base part, wherein the adjusting mechanism includes a hole part piercing the guide shaft in a direction perpendicular to an axis of the guide shaft, a screw hole part formed at the base part, an adjustment screw adjusting the height of the end part of the guide shaft by being inserted into the hole part piercing the guide shaft and being screwed into the screw hole part of the base part, and a pressing member pressing the guide shaft to a head part of the adjustment screw.
According to the above mentioned aspect of the present invention, as compared with the conventional art record and read apparatus in which the adjustment screw is screwed in the vicinity of the guide shaft so that the head part of the adjustment screw comes in contact with the outer circumference of the guide shaft, the size of the space where the record and read apparatus of the present invention is disposed can be made small. Hence, the record and read apparatus of the present invention can meet the requirement of making the size of the apparatus small.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a record and read apparatus, including a head by which information is read from or written to a recording medium, a guide shaft guiding movements of the head, a base part supporting the guide shaft, and an adjustment mechanism adjusting an end part of the guide shaft so that the end part of the guide shaft has a designated height from the base part, wherein the adjusting mechanism includes a screw hole part piercing the guide shaft in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the guide shaft, a hole part formed at the base part, an adjustment screw adjusting the height of the end part of the guide shaft by being inserted into the hole part of the base part and being screwed into the screw hole part piercing the guide shaft, and a pressing member pressing the guide shaft in a direction remote from the base part.
According to the above mentioned aspect of the present invention, as compared with the conventional art record and read apparatus in which the adjustment screw is screwed in the vicinity of the guide shaft so that the head part of the adjustment screw comes in contact with the outer circumference of the guide shaft, the size of the space where the record and read apparatus of the present invention is disposed can be made small. Hence, the record and read apparatus of the present invention can meet the requirement of making the size of the apparatus small.
The pressing member may be a plate spring formed in a body comprising by a first pressing part pressing the guide shaft in the direction remote from the base part and a second pressing part pressing an outer circumference of the guide shaft so that the guide shaft is supported at a designated position against the base part.
According to the above mentioned aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the number of components for the record and read apparatus. In addition, it is possible to act on both the first pressing part and the second pressing part at same time so that efficiency of assembly work can be improved.
A concave part may be formed at a vicinity of the hole part of the base part so that a head part of the adjustment screw is inserted.
According to the above mentioned aspect of the present invention, the head-part of the adjustment screw does not project from the chassis and thereby it is possible to make the record and read apparatus thin.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.